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Text That night, Luna rose the moon and banished the dark clouds that lingered in the wild skies with both magic and help of the Pegasi. Their encampment was protected by simple barricades, several large bonfires, and patrols that would trade shifts during the night… but Luna wanted to take every precaution possible to keep her soldiers safe over the course of the long first night of their journey. The caravan had pulled off the main road and into an empty stretch of weed-riddled field: Luna had carefully scouted out the spot with the vanguard, checking first for Bitterweaver nests and the presence of other vermin, but they were on a fairly-desolate stretch of land. There were craggy copses of trees here and there from which they gathered plenty of wood, and a few ugly ferns and plenty of weeds… but little else for a few miles ahead. In the far distance, there was a flickering of lights that could be a small city… but it could easily be a thousand other things, a mirage as possible as anything else. They had made good time despite everything, and Luna had also sent Twilight's parents back to Canterlot with an escort of five Pegasus Guard after treating them with some of Zecora's elixir: the small group of soldiers would attempt to catch up to the caravan sometime tomorrow, and the winged unicorn was pleased with their loyalty and their dedication. She was now officially glad to have their support on the journey, and was glad to watch them working on equal ground with both Starlit Knights and minotaurs. The wagons were set up in a rough semicircle, forming a protective wall that guarded them from the road, the main encampment set up around this… but Luna had pitched her own tent some forty feet from where the soldiers were grouped, claiming it was because she was being targeted by Ignominious and would prefer his assassins coming straight to her. In reality, it was because she wanted privacy… and because despite everything, despite their loyalty and friendship… it still felt like there was a distinct division in the camp, as many of the Starlit Knights clustered together in the large green troop tents to sleep. Ponies of the day… and here and she and Scrivener Blooms rested quietly in front of a blue, flickering fire, creatures of the night. The eldritch flames burned low, needing little substance… but Luna threw another log into the fire anyway, shaking her head and murmuring: "It has been a long day, has it not?" "Yeah." Scrivy said softly, then he glanced quietly over his shoulder towards their tent, at the unused sleeping mats and sheets, before he returned his eyes to Luna… and she smiled a little at him before climbing to her hooves, walking over, and dropping herself beside him, the two curling their bodies close as Luna closed her eyes as the male wrapped his foreleg around her. "Luna…" "Say it not, Scrivy, 'tis not important now. What is important is that we have made it through, we are together. And we shall always be together… as equals." She emphasized the last word, opening her cyan eyes to gaze towards him quietly, and Scrivy smiled a little before she kissed the side of his neck, then buried her face against his mane. "Thou art always there for me. Even as these other ponies sleep and expect me to protect them with all the powers of the night, thou still art there for me." "Mind if I join you two, or am I interrupting?" asked a dry voice, and Luna and Scrivy both glanced up with surprise as Pinkamena all-but-materialized out of the shadows, sniffing disdainfully and flopping herself down beside the fire, jerking her head moodily back at the brighter-lit main camp. "Sparkles and her pals are all having a nice time over there, talking and laughing. They were nice to me for all of thirty seconds, then they were ignoring me and all clustering around sissy. Real nice to fit in, ain't it? Real freaking wonderful." "You're as bitter as me." Scrivy said mildly, and when the female grunted and shrugged, he leaned backwards towards a discarded satchel bag, pulling an apple out of it and tossing it to her, and Pinkamena caught it in her jaws and then chomped down, juice and chunks of apple exploding in all directions as the male winced. "And impatient as Luna." Pinkamena chewed loudly, then swallowed thickly before spitting out the stem and a few pieces of apple core, saying distastefully: "We need better food. I hate candy and sweets and vegetables. I want some meat, is that really too much to ask? And a little respect would be nice, but good luck getting that from anypony around here." She stopped, looking moodily into the blue fire before her eyes flicked to the side as Sammy scuttled out of the darkness and looked at her curiously, and then she sighed and rolled onto her side, reaching a hoof out to grab the skeletal beast and yank him close, Scrivy grimacing a bit as his pet squawked… but Pinkamena only began to toy her hooves along his ribs, muttering: "You both know what'll happen after this is all over, right? The freaks like us are going to relegated back into their dungeons… they'll probably lock me up in the asylum, and maybe you two will join me there if you're lucky. We'll have mashed potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and fifteen minutes of time a day in the yard between being locked up in our cells, muzzled and collared. "Or, hell, maybe Princess Sunshine will just throw you in the dungeon or execute you. She's Queen now, after all, and she can do anything she wants… look how quick ponies are to listen to her, they still believe all the happy stories about her, no matter who or what tells 'em different. What's to stop her from doing whatever the hell she wants?" Pinkamena glanced up moodily, then she shook her head slowly as she sighed and tickled her hoof down Sammy's spine, feeling out the vertebrae. "I'm jealous of this little thing here. I could smash him to bits, and he could probably piece himself back together, just like the Velites. I wish someone would smash me to bits, so I could try and put myself back together, and maybe do it right this time…" She fell silent for a few moments as the two ponies studied her, then she sat up suddenly and swatted the pseudodragon, making him squeak before he scurried over to Scrivy, jumping up on top of him and glaring distrustfully past his head. "So what did you two see when Ignominious scared you both? It wasn't Nightmare Moon, and it wasn't Celestia… things you should be scared of. But hell, when I think of what scares me most…" Pinkamena fell silent, then she looked over at the two flatly, waiting impatiently for them to respond as Scrivy and Luna shared a look… and then Luna said softly, slowly: "If thou must know… it was Scrivener Blooms rejecting me. Just as Scrivy saw… what he coined his 'inner weakness.'" "Yeah, he's a real goddamn terrifying pony for a s-" Pinkamena caught herself at the last moment as Luna's eyes began to narrow, and the dull pink pony held up her hooves, closing her eyes and looking almost serene for a moment, her coat shimmering like dried blood in the light of the unnatural flames. "I didn't say it. Still, goes to show emotions… make no goddamn sense. I hate you two as much as I like you two, for being able to make each other happy. The only thing that makes me happy is wrath and destruction." She stopped, then dropped back down on her side with a grumble, muttering: "Stupid goddamn parents. I don't get how sissy can still care about them. They threw us out… they never loved us. They called us sick, they were the sick ones…" She continued in this vein for a little while, then fell quiet before looking up at the night sky… then she made a face over her shoulder at the sound of approaching hooves, saying distastefully: "Oh look, it's little miss popular. What, have your friends gone to bed so now you need to get your fix here?" "It's good to see you too, Pinkamena." Twilight Sparkle said softly, and she stepped forwards and gently touched her shoulder, adding awkwardly: "Pinkie Pie… wanted you to stop in and say goodnight to her at some point. She's sharing a tent with Rarity so… please be nice." "God I hate her sometimes. Fine, better go tuck sissy in or she'll have stupid nightmares." Pinkamena grumbled a bit as she stood up, then she frowned at the look Twilight gave her, asking rudely: "Is there something more wrong with my face than there is with yours, X?" Twilight grimaced at this, self-consciously reaching up to touch at the thin scars over her features… but then she only smiled a little and said quietly: "You make it sound like you were twins, not the same pony… and like you've been doing this for years." Pinkamena snorted at this, turning and striding into the darkness… and then she halted, her eyes seeming to glow quietly as she looked over her shoulder, blue motes in the shadows beyond the campfire as she said quietly: "Maybe I have been. Mom and Pop lied about watching out for us, angels don't look down at us from Heaven with anything but scorn, and 'friends' only watch out for you as long as you got something you can offer them in return… so someone had to do it. Simple as that." Then she turned and strode off into the shadows, and Twilight gazed after her quietly for a moment before she shook her head slowly, then smiled a little over at Luna and Scrivener Blooms as they both looked up at her with small smiles of their own, the violet pony quietly making her way around the fire to lay down next to Luna as she dropped her head against her shoulder and murmured: "Thank you for helping me today. For… making sure my parents would get back home safe, and for… I don't know, for everything. It means a lot to me… that you're always there. That you're both… always there." She quieted, then smiled a little when Luna kissed her forehead gently and said kindly: "Relax now, Twilight Sparkle, and 'twas the least we could do… I am only sorry that the ambush was so… rough upon us both. Ignominious was better prepared than I anticipated, and not even I expected him to stoop so low as to kidnap thy parents to use as bargaining tools… we are only fortunate that Pinkamena was able to disrupt him and free us from the illusions." "They were horrible." Twilight murmured, shuddering a little as she glanced away… and then she shook her head slowly and rested a little closer against Luna, saying quietly: "The visions I had… I guess that part of me will always… be a little afraid of Celestia. Of what Celestia can do…" "Thou art not the only one who fears such, Twilight… I believe even Celestia is wary of that proud part of herself." Luna smiled despite herself, nodding slowly before she looked down and said quietly: "Perhaps 'tis why in part she was not as… disturbed, by the thought of dredging through past memories as I was. But fear not, either way… those days are Celestia's past, and the illusions are faded and gone. Ignominious will not attempt the same wicked spell upon us again and we shall be better prepared for him, the next time he moves against us." Twilight nodded slowly, looking down with a grimace as she murmured: "He must really hate you, Luna… to have crawled up out of Helheim, and… how do we fight him? He seems to be invulnerable… no matter what we do to him, he keeps… coming back." Luna laughed a little at this, saying softly: "Then we shall only continue to fight him until he must stop. Nothing is invulnerable, Twilight… but pray tell, what truly weighs upon thy mind at this juncture? If thou does not mind me saying so, thou has a look upon thy face that is… awkward and eager all at once." Twilight blushed a bit at this, shrugging a little and glancing down for a moment, then she looked up with a smile and said finally: "I just feel… a little strange, a little silly. It's hard to describe…" She looked down thoughtfully, nodding to herself as Scrivy and Luna both studied her curiously. "I spent my whole life thinking with my head. Studying books… living in theory. You helped me… live in real life, even when real life was scary, and I'm so thankful for that now, for these experiences you've given me. I lived by the rules of others, and now I feel… free, and like… I'm really doing something to help." She glanced down quietly and laughed a little as the Element of Magic gave a quiet thrum, Luna looking at this curiously as the purple gemstone glowed before settling… and then Twilight smiled embarrassedly as she snuggled herself a bit closer before murmuring: "No regrets about what wasn't done, right? Better to live and share with others, whatever may come… no matter what happens." She closed her eyes, and Luna smiled softly, nodding slowly, comfortable between the two ponies she cherished as she curled back against Scrivener Blooms and let one of her forelegs and wings drape gently over Twilight, and there was no more need for words in the comfortable silence that followed. Top ↑ Category:.Transcript Category:Story